Chapter 36: Survival of the Fittest

"Revenge?" Twig echoed. She twitched her ears. "Who cares? We can defeat Firebenders easily!"
"No, we can't," Twister said, "Firebenders are no walk through the field."
"She's right," Ash agreed. Twig, when you face your first Firebender, you'll see how strong they are.
Twig rolled her eyes. "How bad can they be?"
Stone sighed, "Anyways... Moonlight, you gonna help or what?" she growled.
Moonlight nodded, ignoring Stone's hostility. "Yes, I can help. I've followed the tiger, but after I heard the bushes rustling... I went to check out what it was. Unfortunately, I didn't know who or what it was."
"Great, another loner?" snorted Twig. "This place is infested with them."
"Well, The Bending Tower territory is the only place we can find peace!" Moonlight protested.
"Really?" Ash perked his ears, a bit shocked. Why is  The Bending Tower the only place for peace?
"Well, what about the Earth Kingdom?" Dust demanded, "They're far away and safe, too!"
"We can't go there! It's--" Moonlight began.
"Now, alright," Darner stepped forward. "Moonlight, where did Tiggerkat go?"
"East," Moonlight replied. "Maybe we should split up?"
"Well, I dunno, that's what we did back with Kabu," Rusty answered.
The bushes rustled. Ash perked his ears and looked at it. "What's that?"
"Something's there," remarked Darner.
"We'll check out what it is!" Dust said bravely, puffing out his chest. "Right, Rusty?"
"Right!" Rusty nodded, and both twins crashed into the bushes.
Ash stared after them. Everyone else did the same, all waiting for the twins to come back. A few minutes went by. Nothing.
Twig finally talked, "Well?! Where are--"
"YA!" came a yowl. Ash turned his head, and something came flying on top of his head. "Down, mighty beast!"
"What?!--" Ash shouted, feeling the animal hitting him with a stick. He jerked his head forward, and the animal fell of, holding onto a vine.
"Um... You do realize that vine is full of poison ivy, right?" Twister said to the animal. Ash looked at it. It was the size of a squirrel, orange-tan with brown stripes on its back. He raised an eyebrow, trying to find out what it was.
The animal let go of the vine. "Of course, you uneducated wolf!"
"Hey!" Twister exclaimed.
"Um, can we help you?" Stone growled.
"No, but I can help you." the animal walked up to stone, looking her right in the eyes. "You're missing someone."
"Geez, does everyone know we're missing an animal?" Akumu snorted.
"No, I just overheard you talking, I'm a spy," said the animal proudly. He turned his back to the group of animals, thinking, then turned around. "You'll find your friend, don't worry."
"Really?" Twister perked her ears.
"Yes, yes!" nodded the animal, and leaned into Twister's face. "In the afterlife."
Twister looked confused. The animal jumped onto a rock and scratched the side of his head, then sat down, looking at the group.
"And exactly what are you?" Darner asked politely.
"Meerkat," replied the animal. "And I'm the strongest, fittest loner in the forest!"
"I can tell," Stone rolled her eyes.
"But... What do you mean by we'll find Tiggerkat in the afterlife?" Ash asked, worried.
"She's going to be tortured, of course she will! There are evil animals around this territory, they can capture her. She's as good as dead. Now, go home," smiled the meerkat. He turned around to walk away.
"We're not leaving," Twister insisted. "We need to find her. Do you know where she is?"
"Yes, I saw her leave," replied the meerkat. "And I can help you if you'd like, but it'd be for nothing."
Twig unsheathed her claws and growled, leaning into the meerkat. "Thanks, but we don't need some pesky prey's help." the she-cat batted him away, "Run along now."
The meerkat looked at the group. "Your choice... Tourists," he snorted, then ran off into the bushes.

Author's Note:
Annoying meerkat is annoying. .3.